Bites & Sips - New bar stays on the QT

Monday

Jan 13, 2014 at 11:00 AM

You won't need a secret handshake or coded knock on the door to get into The Blind Elephant.

By Paul Stephen

You won't need a secret handshake or coded knock on the door to get into The Blind Elephant. But that doesn't mean there isn't a doorman peering through a peek-a-boo sliding metal window screening out the riffraff. And you will need a password to enter the VIP lounge. Wilmington's first bar completely dedicated to the modern speakeasy approach does so in grand fashion. Down a seedy alley between Front Street Brewery and Port City Java and devoid of any signage, patrons must scramble up the worn steel steps at 21 N. Front St. to find the spot, formerly home to nightclubs Station 21, Olive or Twist and others. Owner Ashley Tipper has adorned the walls with massive competing portraits of Andrew Volstead, the legislator closely associated with the National Prohibition Act of 1919, and notorious bootlegger Al Capone. Period news clippings are displayed on other surfaces. To set the mood, a solo upright bass player plucks out a jazzy groove Thursday and Sunday nights; a weathered piano entertains on others.Alabama native Tipper, who opened The Blind Elephant on New Year's Eve, said she's aiming for more of a mature crowd with an appreciation for finely crafted cocktails or a sip from one of the nearly 45 bourbons in stock. "There's nothing like it here downtown," she said. "If you want a vodka Red Bull we can accommodate that, but it's a bit quieter crowd. We don't have people puking and fighting."Tipper jokingly considered slapping a punitive $5 price tag on Bud Light, a beer begrudgingly stocked but well out of sight so as not to offend the impressive range of craft brews kept on hand.The sophisticated sips, all priced at $8, are concocted on a rotating weekly basis by Tipper and her staff of five bartenders. Current options, billed as "elixirs," include house favorites like The Jive, made with Hendrick's Gin, St. Germain liqueur and muddled cucumber, or the No. 10, a mix of Eagle Rare bourbon, Canton liqueur, a pair of bitters and apricot marmalade.The only menu in the house is for the bourbons, which include both the pricey and the more affordable, if uncommon pours. Aficionados will appreciate the bottles of Angel's Envy and Prichard's Double Barrel, and bargain hunters might be steered toward The Original Jesse James America's Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey, a mouthful of a name painted on a defiantly kitschy bottle that's reasonably well-regarded by some critics despite the plastic screw cap. While yet-another-new-bar-downtown might not be the headline to grab everyone's attention, The Blind Elephant occupies a niche as unique as the cozy, exposed brick pockets tucked into the corners of the sharply renovated space. While anyone is welcome to at least attempt to get in, it is a private club and Tipper said they are selective about granting potential patrons passage. "I feel like we're filling a market that was here, but just hasn't been catered to," she said.A "Great Gatsby"-themed party will serve as a grand opening bash on Friday, Jan. 17. The door opens at 5 p.m., and appropriate attire is required. Regular hours are 5 p.m.-2 a.m. weekdays and 2 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. To reserve the VIP Volstead Room (and get your password) call 833-7175.

Contact Paul Stephen at 343-2041 or Paul.Stephen@StarNewsOnline.com. Find him on Twitter @pauljstephen, or drop a note at the Port City Foodies' Facebook page.